In September 2008, I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, a huge shock to me. Within you will find my journey into the scary world of cancer and my struggles to emerge from it.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

The crane duet

I did take a video of them vocalizing but can't figure how to upload it
Males and females look the same though the male is usually 20% bigger. During a duet the female adds twice as many notes as the male. As these guys were in sync, they are probably both boys
Their voices presumably carry a mile

sandhill cranes Used to be rare around here but no longer. I usually can hear them, if not see them, on my bike rides. These ones are particularly tame

they are so pretty

sunrise this morning. One advantage of this house is the lack of big trees blocking the sunsets and sunrises

who doesn't need an aquarium on their ceiling from a nightlight. I have the solar system on the ceiling of our hallway

The four of us from the bicycle ride were to ride together yesterday in the state park near Josh's but at the last minute, two couldn't make it. Why haul our bikes (with 2 dicey racks) up there when it is pretty down here? On to the country roads (dirt) here. We did go to the park afterwards to swim as yesterday was a particularly toasty and humid day. The water was quite warm. As we stood around, fish and some other creature (with claws!) would bump into our legs and feet. Sort of creepy.

The sandhill cranes seem to be a fixture of the picnic area as we've seen them there several times before. When I saw them last time, they were taking food off a picnic table. A woman had to shoo them away with a swim noodle. They came up to us while we eating water melon. Would they like some? Yes they would snapping it out of my fingers. Then they started to sing together. Later they went for a bath flapping their wings frantically in the water to get all wet then later on shore to dry them out. Quite a show.

A nice summer day. So calm and peaceful. Fish would regularly jump out of the water (to snap up bugs?) An osprey flew overhead. After lunch, I returned home to find a distressed Steve. The water went crazy as our pressure regulator somehow melted leaving the water under pressure blowing up through the toilets. He somehow shut off all the water awaiting the well guys yet again. New switch; new pressure regulator, new gauge. So far so good but I suspect we are not at the end of problems with the well.

Today will be last warm humid day for a while. As I had biked 2 days in a row, time for a long run. Deer fly season must be over as none flew around my head.

Neuropathic pain. I had a severe attack this morning as I sat on the porch talking to a friend. I assume it is due to damage of a nerve close to my ribs from radiation. Sometimes I go for months without feeling this but today's attack felt like I broke a rib. When in severe pain, my blood pressure drops so I felt like fainting. And then vomiting. After 30 long minutes, I felt fine again. I have no idea what sets these things off. Many times, it wakes me up in the middle of the night. This too shall pass; this too shall pass. And it does.

The pain is too far up and on my side to be gall bladder pain. And this is totally unelated to what I have eaten which is unlike some of my friends who do have gall bladder problems. As time goes on, this happens less and less but yesterday's attack was a painful one.

I've seen cranes, both parents, teaching their young ones to fly, a fun spectacle.

Steve and me

About me

I am a mother of 3, wife of 1, and grandmother of 6. For years, I had been a medicinal chemist. Not long after I was retired early, I found myself with triple negative breast cancer. My struggles with it are in this blog along with the joys and trials of being a mother and grandmother. I love to be physically active, travel, read, and garden. Although my degrees are in chemistry and cellular biology not medicine, I keep up with the medical literature and report herein watching closely for good news against this deadly disease. As time goes on, my stay in Cancerland has become more a bad memory than a reality. This blog has since morphed into a photo blog in which I try to capture moments of beauty in my life.